Joe Biden Requested to Sit Next to Julia Louis-Dreyfus at State Dinner

Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus and her real-life counterpart, Vice President Joe Biden, have known each other for a while. The former Seinfeld star consulted with Biden when forming her character, and the pair had a hilariously awkward lunch last year which she recapped for Katie Couric. (The takeaway: the vice president orders off-menu, and like the national great-aunt he is, he will insist you get too much food.) They’re an adorable odd couple—more actors should be friends with the IRL people who they play. Just imagine how much fun House of Cards’ Kevin Spacey would have sharing whiskey with Republican Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy? Or the capers that’d be pulled off by Revenge star Madeleine Stowe and real-life terrifying Hamptons matriarch Kelly Ripa?

Louis-Dreyfus shared a charming selfie of her and Biden, which appropriately showcased her asymmetrical black dress, his wolfish grin, and her mind-bogglingly youthful countenance. (Seriously, what does she do to her skin? During all those years of Seinfeld, was she actually sucking the youth out of that endless string of buxom guest stars? HAS ANYONE SEEN TERI HATCHER??) Turns out they were seated next to each other because Biden made a special request. Now he only has two wishes left for the remainder of the Obama administration—say goodbye to National Funny Hat Day, everybody.

Elsewhere at the dinner, America’s ingenue Mindy Kaling Instagrammed a few pictures with her date (her best lady friend) and fellow celeb Bradley Cooper. Cooper himself spent some time chatting (in French, we hope) with Secretary of State John Kerry. And French President François Hollande, whose love life has garnered endless headlines across the globe after he left his live-in girlfriend for a reportedly pregnant younger actress, got the sad-sack singleton treatment: he was seated directly between smug marrieds Barack and Michelle Obama, with absolutely no chance of meeting any eligible young Americans.